Quoting: Lenny7
Seems more realistic than a lot...does $20 mil get Nate, Byram, Newy and 7 other guys signed in 23 though?
Unfortunately next seasons cap crunch is a problem we deal with next year. Because this year is the last MacKinnon “discount” year, we must treat it as an “all in” scenario.
EJs 6mil covers Macks raise plus some.
Maybe cap ceiling increases means Newhook and Byram take 1 year bridges until Toews money comes off the books.
Roster needs to start to fill out using these cheap ELC guys like Kaut/Ranta/Maltsev/Olausson etc once Helm/Cogliano deals fall off.
Sneaky dark horse here is if Mack is willing to take an extra friendly deal to keep this machine going (ie match Makar or Rantanen contracts).
Based on what I’ve seen so far, Newhook is minimum 2 years away from being a competent everyday 2C on a playoff contending team.
Personally, I’ve always seen Toews as the cap casualty, not Girard. Avs can’t afford to pay his raise so why trade Girard now then lose Toews to FA the following year, when you could just trade Toews now at his peak value, and keep Girard.
Core 4 D being Byram-Makar, Girard-Manson.